Selective control mechanism



Sept. 16, 1958 c. G. HASTY SELECTIVE CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 20, 1956 INVENTOR. 6342/8041 6.. 0'45 7V Arne/vars v Sept.16, 1958 c. G. HASTY SELECTIVE CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledFeb. 20, 1956 I HIM Hm.

IN V EN TOR. CHE/60M 6. H437) J MM H7701? NEVS United States PatentOfiice 2,851,898 Patented Sept. 16, 1958 SELECTIVE CONTROL lVIECHAN ISMCarroll G. Hasty, Kalamazoo, Mich., assignor to Shakespeare ProductsCompany, Kalamazoo, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application February20, 1956, Serial No. 566,579

4 Claims. (Cl. 74-471) The present invention relates generally toselective control mechanisms and more particularly to an assemblyadapted to translate a single angular motion into a succession ofsubstantially linear movements which occur in a predetermined order anddirection in the course of said angular motion.

It is conventional for purposes of remote control to extend Bowden wirecables between the controllable elements of a mechanism and a controlcenter or panel whereby a pulling force applied to the end of a givenWire effects the desired operation. Where several controllable elementsare involved which must be actuated or deactuated in a given sequence,the use of separate control knobs or levers for each Bowden wire makesfor a relatively complicated operation. Thus in heater-defroster andair-conditioning devices, such as are now installed in automobiles, thepresent practice is to provide separate controls for turning on theheater, for operating blower fans and for opening defroster vents.Obviously, should one open the defroster vents before first turning onthe heater and then the blower, the proper sequence of operation wouldnot be obtained.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide amechanical control assembly having a single control element whoseangular motion is translated into a succession of substantially linearmotions which occur in a predetermined order and direction.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide a controlassembly including a hand-operated lever adapted to oscillate a sectorplate having a plurality of cam grooves therein, each of which in apredetermined order and direction controls the movement of a pivoted armconnected to a respective Bowden wire. Selective operation of thecontrollable elements coupled to the various Bowden wires may beobtained simply by adjusting the angular position of the lever.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a control assembly ofthe above-described type which is of simple and efiicient mechanicaldesign and which may be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

Briefly stated, a selective control mechanism in accordance with theinvention includes a sector plate pivotally mounted at its apex andhaving a plurality of cam grooves formed therein at spaced positions,each groove having an arcuate section whose center of curvature is thepivot point and having an inclined section. Also provided is a pluralityof rocker arms each having a follower riding in a respective cam groovewhereby when the sector plate is shifted about its pivot, the arms areshifted in an order and direction depending on the polar position of theinclined sectionsof the cams and the direction of inclination.

With aselective control mechanism in accordance with the invention, theoperation of a single lever to shift the position of the sector platemay be used to effect multi movements and thereby control many openings,valves and perform other control functions.

For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects andfurther features thereof, reference is had to the following detaileddescription tobe read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein like elements in several views are identified by like referencenumerals.

in the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a mechanical control assembly inaccordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of said assembly.

Figure 3 shows separately the sector plate component of the assembly.

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the assembly.

Piugre 5 is a front elevational view of the assembly with thehand-operated lever and the sector plate removed therefrom to expose therocker arms.

Referring now to the drawing, the mechanical control assembly inaccordance with the invention comprises a generally rectangular mountingplate ll) having a triangular end portion 11 and an ofiset base portionconstituted by two tabs 12 for attaching the assembly onto a controlboard or panel. end portion is conical boss 13 and formed at the otherend of the plate in longitudinal alignment with boss 13 is a smallerconical boss 14.

One end of a hand-operated lever 15 is pivotally connected to boss 13 bymeans of a pivot pin 16 which passes through a longitudinal slot cut inthe lever so that the lever is free to shift in the longitudinaldirection within the limits of the slot as well as to rotate angularlyabout its pivot point. The length of the lever 15 is such that its freeend 13 extends beyond the base of the mounting plate. Hence when theassembly is mounted on a control panel, the free end 18 of the leverwill project through a slit in the panel to permit manipulation thereof.A suitable handle may be attached to said free end 18.

Pivotally mounted on boss 14 by means of a pivot pin 1? is a sectorplate 20, the pin passing through an opening 21 in the sector plate, asshown in Fig. 3. Since the height of boss 14 is smaller than that ofboss 13, the sector plate 20, as best seen in Fig. 1; is interposedbetween the mounting plate 10 and the hand-operated lever 15.

Formed approximately at the mid point of lever 15 is a conical boss 22which projects toward sector plate 2b and is pivotally connected theretoby means of a pivot pin 23. Consequently, as lever 15 is angularlyshifted about pivot 16 from its extreme left position, as shown in solidlines in Fig. 2, to its extreme right position, as shown in dotted linestherein, sector plate 20 is concurrently shifted about pivot 19, andwhen the lever is returned to its extreme left position, the sectorplate is likewise returned.

Cut into sector plate 20 at spaced positions thereon are three cam slots24, 25 and 26, slot 24 being adjacent the apex end of the sector, slot26 being adjacent the periphery thereof and slot 25 being interposedtherebetween. As best seen in Figs. 2 and 5, rocker arms 27 and 28 arepivotally secured at their left extremities to mounting plate 10 bymeans of pivot pins 30 and 31, whereas a rocker arm 29 is pivoted at itsright extremity by means of pivot pin 32. Secured to rocker arms 27, 28and 29 at ofiset central positions thereon are follower buttons 33, 34and 35 which ride within the respective cam slots 24, 25 and 26 on thesector plate and act to shift the angular position of the arms inaccordance with the cam paths.

Attached to the free end of rocker arm 27 and projecting through anarcuate slot 36 formed in the mounting plate is a connector post 37.Similarly attached to the free ends of arms 28 and 29 are connectorposts 38 and Formed at the apex of the triangular 39 which projectthrough arcuate slots 40 and 41 cut in the mounting plate. Thusoscillation of the rocker arms is limited by the length of theassociated arcuate slots, the movement of the post therein being in asubstantially linear path. As best seen in Fig. 4, secured to posts 37,38 and 39 are Bowden wires 42, 43 and 44, each wire running through itsrespective protective sheaths 42a, 43a and 44a. Each sheath is held tothe mounting plate by a suitable clip 45. As shown in Fig. 3, cam slot24, moving from left to right, is constituted by an arcuate section 24a,a downwardly inclined linear section 241) and an arcuate section 24c.Cam slot 25 is constituted by an arcuate section 25a followed by adownwardly inclined linear section 25b. Cam slot 26a is constituted byan upwardly inclined linear section 26a followed by an arcuate section2617. The center of curvature of all of the arcuate sections in thethree cam slots is the pivot point which passes through the axis of hole21 in the apex of the sector plate.

Thus as handle lever is moved from left to right, the cam slots areshifted in the same direction, thereby causing the follower buttons 33,34 and 35 to ride in a path determined by the respective cam shapes.When a given follower button travels in an arcuate section of a cam, itsradial position relative to the pivot point remains unchanged and theassociated rocker arm is not shifted. When, however, the follower buttonrides along an inclined section of the cam, its radial position shiftsaccordingly and the associated rocker arm is shifted downwardly orupwardly depending on the direction of inclination.

It will be noted that when the lever 15 is at its extreme left position,rocker arms 27 and 28 are upwardly inclined relative to their own pivotswhereby connector posts 37 and 38 lie at the upper ends of slots 36 and40, respectively, whereas rocker arm 29 which is downwardly in- .clinedrelative to its pivot 32 has its connector post 39 at the lower end ofslot 41.

When lever 15 is angularly shifted toward the right, the follower button35 riding in upwardly inclined section 26a of cam slot 26 causes rockerarm 29 to move upwardly so that post 39 is shifted to the upper positionin slot 41. Follower button 34 riding in cam slot 25 causes rocker arm28 to move downwardly when the follower button traverses downwardlyinclined section 25b thereby moving post 38 to the down position in slot40. Follower button 33 causes rocker arm 27 to shift post 37 to thelowermost position in slot 36 when the button traverses downwardlyinclined section 2412 of the cam slot.

Thus in the course of lever movement from left to right, post 39 isfirst shifted from the bottom to the top of its slot, post 37 isthereafter shifted from the top to the bottom of its slot and, finally,post 38 is shifted from top to the bottom of its slot. The order inwhich the post movements take place depends on the polar position of theinclined section of the cam slot with respect to the common pivot point,and the direction of these movements depends on the direction ofinclination. It will be obvious that relative polar positions of theinclined sections of the cams may be made such as to obtain sequentialor simultaneous operation in any desired order.

When the lever is at its extreme left position, the Bowden wires 42 and43 connected to posts 37 and 38 are retracted in their sheaths, whileBowden wire 44 connected to post 39 is extended, as shown in Fig. 4,whereas when the lever is shifted to its extreme right position, thereverse relationship exists to provide the desired control functions.

It is to be understood that while three arcuate slots have been shown inconjunction with three rockers, a greater number may be employed withinthe context of the invention. It will also be appreciated that the orderin which the connector posts are shifted and the direction of theirshifts may be predetermined by suitably shaping the cam paths. While ahand-operated lever has been used to swing the sector plate, variousother mechanical or electromechanical expedients may be used for thesame purpose, such as a rotary electromagnet.

While there has been shown what is considered to be a preferredembodiment of the invention, it will be manifest that many changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the essentialspirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, in the annexedclaims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A selective control mechanism comprising a mounting plate, a sectorplate pivotally mounted at its apex on said mounting plate at a pointadjacent the base thereof and having a plurality of cam grooves formedtherein at spaced positions, each cam groove having an arcuate sectionwhose center of curvature is the pivot of said sector plate and havingan inclined section, a like plurality of rocker arms pivotally mountedon said mounting plate and provided with a cam follower riding in arespective cam groove, and a lever pivotally connected at one end tosaid mounting plate at a point thereon remote from said base and outsidethe area scanned by said sector plate and pivotally connected to saidsector plate to effect oscillation thereof, the free end of said leverextending beyond said base to facilitate manipulation.

2. A selective control mechanism comprising a mounting plate, a sectorplate pivotally mounted at its apex on said mounting plate at a pointadjacent the base thereof and having a plurality of cam grooves formedtherein at spaced positions, each cam groove having an arcuate sectionwhose center of curvature is the pivot of said sector plate and havingan inclined section, a like plurality of rocker arms pivotally mountedon said mounting plate and provided with a cam follower riding in arespective cam groove, the free end of each arm having a connector postprojecting therefrom through an arcuate opening in said mounting plate,and a lever pivotally connected at one end to said mounting plate at apoint thereon remote from said base and outside the area scanned by saidsector plate and pivotally connected to said sector plate to effectoscillation thereof and thereby cause said followers to move said armsin an order and direction depending on the polar position and thedirection of inclination of said inclined sections, the free end of saidlever extending beyond said base to facilitate manipulation.

3. A selective control mechanism comprising a mounting plate, a sectorplate pivotally mounted at its apex on said mounting plate at a pointadjacent the base thereof and having a plurality of cam grooves formedtherein at spaced positions, each cam groove having an arcuate sectionwhose center of curvature is the pivot of said sector plate and havingan inclined section, said inclined sections having predetermineddirections of inclination and polar positions relative to said pivot, alike plurality of rocker arms pivotally mounted on said mounting plateand provided with a cam follower riding in a respective cam groove, thefree end of each arm having a connector post projecting therefromthrough an arcuate opening in said mounting plate, and a hand leverpivotally connected at one end to said mounting plate at a point thereonremote from said base and outside the area scanned by said sector plateand pivotally connected to said sector plate to effect oscillationthereof and thereby cause said followers to move said arms in an orderand direction depending on the polar position and the direction ofinclination of said inclined sections, the free end of said leverextending beyond said base to facilitate manipulation.

4. A selective control mechanism for operating Bowden wires comprising amounting plate, a sector plate pivotally mounted at its apex on saidmounting plate at a point adjacent the base thereof and having aplurality of cam grooves formed therein at spaced positions, each camgroove having an arcuate section whose center of curvature is the pivotof said sector plate and having an inclined section, a like plurality ofrocker arms pivotally mounted on said mounting plate and provided with acam follower riding in a respective cam groove, the free end of each amhaving a connector post projecting therefrom through an arcuate openingin said mounting plate, and a lever pivotally connected at one end tosaid mounting plate at a point thereon remote from said base and outsidethe area scanned by said sector plate and pivotally connected to saidsector plate to efiect oscillation thereof, said Bowden wires beingconnected to said posts and being extended and retracted in accordancewith the angular position of said lever to effect selective control, thefree end of said lever extending beyond said base to facilitatemanipulation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS691,968 Paine Ian. 28, 1902 10 2,571,028 Gerry Oct. 9, 1951 2,584,055Smith Ian. 29, 1952 2,634,670 Simons Apr. 14, 1953

